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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26490529">A Thousand Years</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Merlin Waiting for Arthur Pendragon's Return (Merlin), Sad, Song: A Thousand Years (Christina Perri)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:35:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>412</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26490529</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin waits for Arthur's return and hears "A Thousand Years" on the radio.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Merlin &amp; Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Thousand Years</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This song came on the radio when I was driving and it made me think of Merlin waiting for Arthur so-</p>
<p>A link to the song:<br/>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOvBOTyX00&amp;ab_channel=ChristinaPerri</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sometimes it felt like a dream--Camelot, the knights, and Arthur, always Arthur. The world had forgotten Arthur’s court, reducing them to only a legend, a mockery of the family he had once known. </p>
<p>Sometimes he thought he was just a delusional old man. The world had plenty of need for a sorcerer, but there was still no room for magic in Camelot, in Albion, in the empire that rose in its place.</p>
<p>Sometimes he traveled around the world and saw Arthur’s courage in a young boy defending his family, Gwen’s kindness within a warm home offering a bed for a stranger, Lancelot’s nobility in a girl standing up for the truth. Gwaine, Elyan, Percival, Leon, Gaius, Freya--hints that reminded him of what he once had. </p>
<p>He always returned to Avalon. The modern world was a far cry from what felt like a completely different land, a land of myth and a time of magic. He had rented an apartment with the view of the lake. Sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep, he sat by the window and turned on the radio, heart breaking for the thousandth time as the waters remained calm.</p>
<p>Tonight, he opened the window and let the sounds of the night form a canvas. Music from the radio drifted out to paint the dark--pulsing chords on the piano, a sweeping wave from the cello, and a melancholy, ethereal voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Heart beats fast- </em>
</p>
<p>He could still feel Arthur’s life slipping away.</p>
<p>
  <em> Colors and promises- </em>
</p>
<p>“I want you to always be you.”</p>
<p>
  <em> How to be brave- </em>
</p>
<p>“I always thought you were the bravest man I ever met.”</p>
<p>
  <em> How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? </em>
</p>
<p>Did Arthur ever know? Yes, he had to. They were two sides of the same coin.</p>
<p>
  <em> But watching you stand alone- </em>
</p>
<p>Arthur, alone on the battlefield at Camlann, surrounded by fallen men-</p>
<p>
  <em> All of my doubt, suddenly goes away somehow. </em>
</p>
<p>A vain hope that he would be fine, he would be fine, Arthur would live-</p>
<p>
  <em> One step closer. </em>
</p>
<p>No, he had been too far away.</p>
<p>
  <em> I have died every day, waiting for you. </em>
</p>
<p>And every day, he still waited, waited for Arthur to rise.</p>
<p>
  <em> Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. </em>
</p>
<p>Had it been a thousand years? He didn’t count the passage of time anymore. </p>
<p>
  <em> I'll love you for a thousand more.</em>
</p>
<p>Merlin shut off the radio. Destiny had closed on Arthur, and no one can escape destiny.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! Feedback is appreciated!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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